TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Gov. Laura Kelly is discounting Republican calls to rescind a policy requiring out-of-state online businesses to collect sales taxes on sales in Kansas and remit the tax to the state.
On Monday, Attorney General Derek Schmidt issued a nonbinding opinion that Kellys administration did not have the legal authority to impose the policy, which some experts said is the nations most aggressive policy for collecting state and local taxes on online sales.
House and Senate GOP leaders then demanded the Kelly drop the policy, which the Kansas Department of Revenue issued in August. The tax collections were scheduled to take effect Tuesday.
This is about protecting our friends and neighbors doing business on Main Street and throughout our local communities across Kansas, Kelly told the Topeka Capital-Journal. They are working hard, playing by the rules and deserve to be on a level playing field with out-of-state retailers.
Ryckman, the House speaker from Olathe, told the Topeka newspaper Schmidts analysis showed the sales tax notice to be an unlawful tax mandate by her administration.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, said he was puzzled by Schmidts view on the Department of Revenues plan to enforce sales tax law on out-of-state businesses. He said Wagle, Ryckman and Schmidt were playing partisan politics.
I see Derek Schmidt using the office of attorney general much like Kris Kobach used the office of secretary of state, Hensley said.
Hensley said Schmidt, while serving in the Senate, was the lone vote against a bill in 2003 designed to impose additional sales tax obligations on out-of-state companies. He said Schmidt did so to protect interests of an Amazon facility in his Senate district. In terms of the latest sales tax dispute, Hensley said, Schmidt again sided with out-of-state interests.
